Women Who Built the World

ADELIA AYU on DESIGN

For a century and half, women have shown their passion and talent in architecture, which is a male-dominated profession. From the mighty Guangzhou Opera House to the hearty Women’s Opportunity Center in Rwanda, these marvelous architects show the magic of women’s touch and thoughtful thinking.

Guangzhou Opera House ( Zaha Hadid)

In architecture, it’s impossible to not acknowledge the works of Zaha Hadid. Being dubbed as “Queen of The Curves”, the late architect gives a feminine touch to the 70000sqm buildings. Guangzhou Opera House sits perfectly with its riverside location, Described as “pebbles in a stream smoothed by erosionThe design evolved from a natural landscape concept and fascinating interplay between architecture and nature - engaging with erosion, geology and topography principals.

MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (Odille Decq)

The Radical Goth architect Odille Decq constantly gives huge impact in French and global architecture. One of her distinct famous works is MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome. The museum’s high gloss roof was conceived by the eccentric architect as promenade linking of late 19thcentury surroundings to enigma of present day art. Reflecting her personality, the designs feature rigorous color schemes, such as black and dark grey for the lobby spaces, red for auditorium and cafeteria, plus white for exhibition galleries.

Sesc Pompeia (Lina Bo Bardi)

Lina Bo Bardi always places people at the center of her projects and it shows in one of her masterpieces, the Sesc Pompeia. Formed out of an old factory in Sao Paulo, she turned it into a village assembly of spaces, enriched with things such as a shared hearth and meandering, river-like flow of water. Lina then added three concreted, castle-like towers, connected by bridges. The towers act as a defiance of any right-wing government that intended to sweep the complex away.

Rwanda Women’s Opportunity Center (Sharon Davis)

Sharon Davis collaborated with Women for Women International, occupying a two-hectare site one hour away from the heart of Rwanda to build a center for social infrastructure and economic opportunities. Along with innovative designs that allow passive cooling and solar shading, the architect also established local partnership to create water purification and biogas. Speaking of the hearty design, the 450,000 clay bricks needed for the construction were made by local women using durable manual pressed method, adapted from local building techniques.

When we think of a Christmas tree, we most likely think of a synthetic pine

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